


Velveteen Pooka

by Kayasurin



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alien physiology, Established Relationship, Jack is a Pooka, M/M, sex in the last chapter, some violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-11
Updated: 2013-08-13
Packaged: 2017-12-23 04:45:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/922142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kayasurin/pseuds/Kayasurin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Guardians do more than just fight spirits like Pitch Black, but when a Wizard casts a curse on Jack, what will the effects be?</p><p>Or- this is why genealogy is important, kids.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'll post once a day until the story's finished. Any warnings for the chapter will be up here. Heed them.

"Did you have to set off the bloody aurora right _now_ , North?" Aster jumped over the balcony railing, and dropped to the lower floor with barely a bend in his knees. Jack paused a moment, toes curling around the smooth wood, and watched.

"Were you busy?" Tooth asked, innocent. Too innocent. Jack narrowed his eyes. It was well meaning, he knew that, but it'd take a while before his usual knee jerk reflex to this sort of teasing eased off.

"Yes, we were _busy_ ," Aster snapped. "As you should well know, sheila. North, haven't you got any sense of timing?"

"Busy with what? Who?" Tooth asked, and turned to Sandy. "What do you think?"

Sandy shrugged, and then looked up. He saw Jack, grinned, and formed an arrow that pointed right at the Winter Spirit. Jack rolled his eyes and dropped down beside Aster.

"Hey Tooth, Sandy. North, really? If you saw Pitch in your cereal bowl again I'm going to be very annoyed with you."

Aster turned, and grinned at Jack. "Hey, Frostbite. Cereal bowl, North?"

"One time," North grumbled. "No, is something else. Wizard gone bad."

Jack raised his eyebrows. Aster, the considerate boyfriend that he was, bent over and whispered an explanation in his ear. "It's tricky to keep a wizard in human jail, and downright impossible for the flatfeet to catch. Been a long time since us Guardians have had to crack down on a wizard gone bad. Mostly they take up with that Wiccan belief these days, stay out of trouble."

"These people can see us?" Jack asked. He felt Aster's grin against the curve of his ear, the tickle of whiskers in his hair.

North looked nauseated, but wasn't that part of the fun? It was his own fault, really. North shouldn't have made such a fuss over 'his best friend and his younger brother' and how he'd never be able to look either of them in the eye ever again.

Jack had maybe come up with the game of pushing North's buttons to get back at him for the expressions. Because those made him twitch, too.

"Yes, Jack," Tooth said, apparently taking pity on North. "They can see us." She shivered. "They can enslave us."

"Enslave?"

Sandy flicked through images fast enough to make him dizzy, but he was able to get the idea. Magical enslavement. The spirit typically died of it. "Owch. Okay, glad I never met one of these guys."

"Мастера, подобные этому, ила сосание отходов органной плоти." North nodded his head once. "I know where he is. Novosibirsk! To the sleigh, my friends!"

Jack blinked, and turned to Aster. "So, do you think Russians have a love affair with consonants or something?"

Aster laughed, and chinned him. North's eye twitched.

* * *

Jack hadn't been willing to acknowledge them, at first. His feelings. Back in his day- a phrase that always made him shudder internally when he used it- men did not like other men. At least not in the colonies. Sure, most men hadn't gotten married until they were in their thirties and were established, but after a certain point people started wondering what was wrong with you.

When he'd been human, he hadn't thought about it. One day he'd find a girl he could be friends with, they'd settle down, he'd do his duty by her and they'd have a few children. Oh, sure, it was the blacksmith's son he watched with admiring eyes, and not the man's daughter, but Jack had known better than to hint he felt anything... more than friendship towards the other boys.

And then he'd died, and was brought back (born again) as Jack Frost.

As Frost, he hadn't known there was anything wrong with what he'd felt. After he'd gotten used to- sort of- being invisible, he'd taken the opportunity to watch the humans. If he hadn't known there was anything wrong about his feelings, about preferring men to women, well, he learned.

He watched as a young man was beaten up for sighing over the neighbor boy. He watched as men were lynched, murdered, and the police didn't look into it. Even as time went by, one horrific war after the other, things didn't seem to get better. Then they did. Gay Pride Parades- Jamie had found him in a historical photograph.

But having a word for what he was didn't exactly help when it came to admitting to more than just an admiration. Because Bunny- he'd been Bunny, then, not Aster, a friend but nothing more- Bunny was amazing. He was smart, and Jack had discovered an incredible sense of humor buried under the grump. He had artistic talent to spare, and told the _best_ stories, and when the two of them were talking? Unless it was the ramp up to Easter, Bunny would watch Jack with a laser focus that was a little intimidating, but Jack drank it up anyways, like parched ground with a gentle rain. Someone _saw_ him. Someone _listened_ to him. Someone not only heard him, but thought about what he'd said, and carried on a _conversation_ with him.

It didn't help that Bunny had the brightest, most amazing green eyes ever. Every emotion was just... _there_. No matter what aerobatics the rest of his face was doing, Jack could always tell the Pooka's emotions just from looking in his eyes.

For about a week after he'd realized his feelings, unable to duck away and avoid them, he took off to Antarctica and avoided everyone. Bunny, Tooth, Sandy- He did talk to North when the old guy showed up with vodka and cookies, but that was more of a cautionary thing. Alcohol just made you _feel_ warmer in the cold, it didn't actually prevent hypothermia.

And the cookies were good too.

Jack had finally gone to Jamie for advice.

"Tell him," Jamie said. He was thirty, by that point, or thirty-one, married and with his first child on the way.  If the baby was a girl, he and Pippa had promised to name her Mary Elizabeth, after Jack's sister and Pippa's mother.

Jack had jumped, started. "How do you know I'm talking about a guy?"

Jamie gave him a deadpan look. "You'd rank the Olympic contestants with Cupcake and Pip. The hotness scale?"

"And if you say you were just playing along," Pippa said from the doorway. She mock-shook her fist at Jack. "Who is it?"

Jack had hesitated. He didn't think Bunny's fur- or other lagomorphic features- was weird, but what about these guys? His first believers, and in a way, his favorites. "Well," he'd tried to hedge.

"Can't be North- isn't he married?" Jamie had leaned forward, elbow propped on the desk. "And Sandy makes me think of a starfish- it's not Sandy, is it? No? Probably for the best. And you're not crazy enough to think of Pitch that way-"

"Ew," Jack and Pippa chorused.

"And you haven't mentioned the other spirits wandering around very much. So that leaves Bunny."

"Uh," he'd managed. But Jamie didn't look disgusted, and Pippa was smiling.

"It's alright Jack. Bunny's a lovely man." Pippa kissed his forehead. He'd hugged her, careful of the baby bump. "And I agree with Jamie. You should tell him."

* * *

"You two!" North twisted around in the driver's seat. "Stop groping back there!"

"So," Jack grinned. "We should move to the front?"

"No! Stop groping everywhere!"

Aster huffed, and clutched Jack a little tighter. "Sorry mate, my body, my rules."

Jack laughed, and tweaked one long, gray furred ear. "I like your rules," he murmured. Tooth politely pretended they didn't exist, though it was hard to ignore Sandy. The former wishing star was watching them like they were a particularly interesting show on TV. The mating habits of winter and spring spirits, perhaps? Jack stifled his giggle with Aster's shoulder.

"Are we there yet?" Aster called. His one hand roamed up and down Jack's back, occasionally sneaking under the sweater to caress bare skin. His other remained clenched on the side of the sleigh; he'd be white knuckled if the fur didn't hide it.

"Almost. And what did I say of the groping?"

Jack tilted his head back to laugh, and shifted one hand from his staff to Aster's thigh. The Pooka jumped, and then gave him a heated look mixed with his usual fear of heights. "Hey, it's not like you have eyes in the back of your head, old man!"

"Have no need for eyes squinting through hair." North sniffed, and cracked the reins over the reindeers' backs. "Is bad enough just knowing!"

Jack hid his flinch with a quick caress to Aster's knee.

"I think it's sweet," Tooth said. "And it's nicer than Aster telling you to land every five seconds."

"Oy, it was never every five seconds, sheila!"

Jack rolled his eyes, and checked on Sandy. He was eating golden sand-popcorn, he was just fine.

* * *

"Hey, Bunny?" Jack had timed his visit to the Warren perfectly, he hoped. It was early afternoon, Australia time (also known as 'the time the rest of the world should be on- what? No? I don't give a bloody root for time zones, North, you know that' according to Bunny) and after Easter. There wouldn't be any distractions, and Jack could hopefully tell the rabbit what he felt and... not be laughed out of the Warren.

"Over here, Frostbite!" Bunny was crouched over, working at something to do with the dye river. He'd been splashed with the paint up to the shoulders and from the hips down. It made the muscles in his arms and legs stand out in a way they normally didn't, and Jack found it very difficult to look away.

"You can laugh, you know," Bunny said. That was enough, and Jack managed to look up. Green eyes smiled, even while the rest of Bunny's face was utterly deadpan. "I know I look like a right galah at the mo."

"No, it's not... I wanted to talk to you? If you've got the time. I mean, if you're busy, it can wait, it's nothing that important, but-"

"Frostbite." Bunny left off- oh, he was weeding. He stood up and nodded towards a hill. "Sure. We can have a quick chinwag. What about."

He rolled his staff between his hands. "Uh. You know you're my best friend, right?"

Bunny sprawled on the grass, and patted one multi-colored hand beside him. "I'd have to say you're mine. Why?"

His courage almost failed him then, but Jack forced the words out. How he felt. He wasn't crazy enough to admit it was probably love- he stuck with attraction, much less sudden- but otherwise he did his best not to hide anything.

"I'm not human," Bunny pointed out. "That doesn't bother you?"

Jack... frowned. "No. I mean, I never thought about it, so it must not."

"Maybe you should." Bunny looked away, and for once Jack couldn't read his expression. "I'm built a bit different from humans, after all. It's not just cosmetic."

"What, you've got three hearts or something?" Jack leaned forward. "I don't... I don't care. You're you. And I like you."

Bunny swallowed, hard, and smiled at Jack. "I like you too, Frostbite." He leaned over to the side. "Maybe you could call me Aster? It's me first name."

"What, and give up my nicknames?" Jack leaned forward, and pressed his forehead against Bunny's. Aster's. "I'll think about it."

* * *

Aster breathed a sigh of relief when the sleigh touched down, and was the first out. Jack stretched, not at all oblivious to the appreciative look in his boyfriend's eyes, and climbed out after him.

"Now," North said. "We must find wizard. Will need solitude- magic will make loud noises, flashes of light, odd smells. Very difficult to live next to, yes? So, we will spread out and search, but no fighting without rest of us here. If you find wizard... Hm..."

"Here," Aster suggested. He handed out several small earpieces. "Monty let me take apart his old blue-tooth thingy. Yours will beep if you press this button," he told Sandy.

The earpieces fit even on Tooth and Aster, which was a minor miracle of design in itself. Jack set his in place, tweaked the Pooka's tail, and shot back up into the air.

The five of them spread out. Jack hesitated, and then grinned. "So, Cottontail," he said. "Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, love."

"When we're done with this creep, wanna skip the after-fight meeting?"

"Finish what got interrupted?" Aster asked, all but purring.

"Нет! Сладкий Рождественское утро-" North interrupted. "But this is open line! We can all hear you!"

"Whoops," Jack muttered, and flew a little higher.

Tooth found the wizard, of course. Jack swooped low so he could fly next to Aster, who ran almost as fast as the wind and was much better company. Not that he'd ever say that out loud, of course, he wouldn't want to hurt the wind's feelings.

If an anthropomorphic personification could _have_ feelings, that is.

North had called it. The house- more of an old fashioned hut, the kind that made Jack nostalgic for his childhood home- was set in a clearing in the woods, like the set to a bad horror movie. It was autumn in this part of Russia, cold enough Jack could feel the snow looming over the country, waiting for the right time to fall. The leaves were all gone from the trees, except for a few stubborn bastards clinging for all they were worth, and the grass crunched under their feet.

"How do we want to do this?" Tooth asked. Her wings buzzed like an angry hummingbird's.

"Simple enough." Aster pulled an egg grenade from his bandolier. "We knock."

Then he threw the grenade.

* * *

If making his move on Aster had been nerve wracking, that was nothing compared to admitting the relationship to the other Guardians.

"We don't have to," Aster murmured. He cupped Jack's cheek in one large hand. "If you want to wait a bit."

"No. I don't..." He bit his lower lip. "They're just... everyone's so _old_."

"Hey now." Whiskers brushed across his forehead, then Jack felt Aster's chin rub against his hair. "It's different for spirits, Jack. We don't care so much about what gender you go for."

"But- Tooth and North used to be human." And humans had only recently begun to accept homosexuality. In some cultures it still wasn't allowed.

"And like you said, they're old. And even when they were human, do you think they'd turn away just because you happen to like this old rabbit?"

"No." He didn't think that.

Aster did most of the talking. They didn't announce it at the beginning of the meeting, though it was all but guaranteed to come at the end, since it derailed everything else.

Jack wasn't sure who took it best. Sandy, who eyed them with curiosity and amusement, and seemed to expect Aster to jump Jack, or Jack to jump Aster, just like that? Or Tooth, who hissed threats in Aster's ear and told Jack to be careful with the Pooka's heart?

Possibly North, looking back on it all. At the time Jack had figured the reaction was the worst. North made spluttering sounds, and then complained in broken English how his brother and his best friend wanted to make his head explode.

That was why Jack had proposed to Aster a few new games, all designed to make North's eye twitch.

None of them seemed to think the relationship was wrong, though. And later, talking to them individually...

Sandy smiled, and put both a baby carriage and a question mark over his head. Jack had choked. "It's a bit early for that, isn't it? Besides, we might not be able to- and no, we're not a documentary!"

Tooth had confided that Aster looked happier now than he had for centuries. "Before, he was just... I don't want to say he was coasting, or just surviving. He had his moments, you know. But now? Oh, Jack, you're so good for him. You make him smile."

"Problem is," North said, working on an ice carving. "You are dear to my heart, younger brother, yes? And I feel like I should beat Bunny, best friend and one of smartest people I know, over head with shovel. But, if he makes you happy... I will hold off on skinning him for soup."

The other Guardians approved. Everyone else, so far as Jack was concerned, could take a long walk off a short dock into a frozen lake.

* * *

The door blasted inwards. Jack leaped into the air, startled by North's barbaric war cry and charge through the smoke and splinters into the house. He hovered for a moment, several feet above the rooftree, before dropping down.

He was a better fighter outside, where the wind could reach. Not that he was bad at it, not with Aster and North taking it in turns to teach him how to use his small size to advantage, but. Well. Facts were facts, Jack was a heck of a lot more dangerous in the air.

Tooth was the same way, and she hovered on the other side of the house. Several of her girls flew around her shoulders. They were too far apart, but Jack thought the girls were muttering dangerously.

A high, wailing scream shattered every window in the house. Tooth dropped to the ground, hands over her ears.

Jack shouted in pain, and the wind carried him up, whistled down through the trees and blunted some of that horrible sound.

"Bane-sidhe!" he yelled. No one could hear him. He spun around in place like a top, looking for the death-screamer. Bane-sidhes, or Banshees as they were called now, didn't need to be coerced to work with the nasty side. They were carrion crows. They were also one of the few spirits Jack had ever met before finding out about the Guardians. Because of one Bane-sidhe encounter, he'd avoided every other spirit for about a century, afraid and waiting for his ears to heal.

They could kill humans by screaming at them. It took longer to kill a spirit.

The others would be dealing with the wizard. North- he was human. Tooth was already down. Aster had sensitive ears. Sandy- who knew if the Bane-sidhe could affect Sandy, but Jack wasn't about to risk it.

If he dealt with the Bane-sidhe, the others could deal with the wizard.

He nodded, and gestured to the wind. It roared, tearing the last few leaves from the trees and flinging the Bane-sidhe into view.

There were three of them. Jack muttered a curse. Figured. The Bane-sidhe came either singularly, in a trio, or a hoard. He'd hoped for just one, but a trio wasn't so bad.

"Alright, ladies," he said, though calling them female was stretching things a bit. "Let's play."

They caught sight of him, and shrieked. It wasn't the death scream, but pretty bad, especially in triplicate. Jack took a moment while they charged him, and touched his ears one at a time. Ice filled his ear canals, vaguely painful and muffling everything. He'd have to finish this quick, so he could pull the ice back out.

At least his ears would be very clean after this.

Jack flipped over the lead Bane-sidhe, and hit her in between the shoulders with the butt of his staff. One swiped at him. His dodge almost put him in reach of the third. He threw a snowball in her face, shot up half a dozen more feet, and threw an ice dagger at the first Bane-sidhe.

His throwing skills were much better now that Aster had taken him in hand. The Bane-sidhe twisted, but the dagger got her in the hip.

She shrieked, loud enough he heard it even through the plugs, and flew at him trailing blood.

It was blue.

Jack twisted, right into the second Bane-sidhe. The bitch clawed his back and tried to bite him. He slammed his elbow into her mouth. A little bit of pain for him, a few broken teeth for her. Her mouth was bloody, and his sweater was in shreds.

He spun in time and caught the third on his staff. The crook caught her about the throat. Flesh tore like card stock, a weight there and gone.

The Bane-sidhe's body faded out before it could hit the ground. The head bounced twice before vanishing.

The two remaining Bane-sidhe screamed. The ice in Jack's ears shattered, and then he felt the warm pop of shattering eardrums and blood trickling down his ear canals.

Being deaf was weird. He didn't know how it was for people, humans, born deaf or whatever- but he couldn't hear _anything_. Not even his heartbeat. If the wind hadn't held him, he would have staggered. If the wind hadn't tossed him to one side, he'd have ended up gutted.

Jack couldn't tell how loudly he yelled. He felt his throat flex, the pressure on his larynx as he cussed the Bane-sidhe out. He'd spent a few decades interested in sailors, so he had a large and very rude vocabulary when he wanted it. But he could have been whispering, and he never would have known.

Very disorienting.

At least the vertigo wasn't too bad. He was flying anyways.

The Bane-sidhe tried to come at him, one from either side. Jack went down, and of course they curved to follow him- and not so incidentally, keep from whacking into each other. These weren't nightmares. They were smarter than that.

He waved one hand above his head, and the air filled with razor sharp bits of ice.

The Bane-sidhe flew into the ice before gravity had taken hold. He saw them convulse and felt the pressure of their screams. Apparently some of the ice had gotten them in the eyes.

"Sorry," he said, and struck at the closest one with his staff.

She must have been older than the other one. Her flesh tore like tissue paper, and she faded out quicker.

Jack was flung forward. The third Bane-sidhe clung to his back, and he felt her teeth scrape across the top of his head.

_Hell_ no.

Jack smashed his head back into the Bane-sidhe's mouth, then a second time. He felt something _crunch_ , and it wasn't his skull. A third time, and the Bane-sidhe's grip loosened.

He twisted- damn it, most of what he'd been taught required being on the ground, having something to brace against- and flung the bitch off him. She tumbled through the air, before righting herself. He couldn't tell if she was snarling or just panting. Her mouth was open, and from the nose down her face was a bloody ruin.

Jack shifted his grip on his staff to one hand, then gestured at the Bane-sidhe. She screamed- he could feel it, and ow, he couldn't take much more of that- and flew at him.

He swung his staff like a baseball bat, right into her chest. She crumpled around the old, frost-bitten wood, and then simply fell. When she hit the ground, she twitched a few times, and vanished.

Jack hovered in midair, panting. He touched his ear with one hand, and his fingers came back dripping red. Damn. Another scream or two, and he would've bled out through his ears.

Highly embarrassing.

The fight had taken him a bit of distance from the wizard's house. The wind carried him back over, slowly now. He hadn't noticed them at the time- adrenaline was a lovely, _lovely_ drug and if it'd been man-made it would've been illegal- but he had a lot of injuries and they all _hurt_. Mostly minor, he thought. Cuts, scrapes, that sort of thing. But ow.

The others were out on the front lawn. Tooth was standing, not entirely steady but upright. They were looking around, for him, Jack supposed.

He gestured for the wind to drop him down in front of Aster. They were together; he was allowed to have favorites.

Jack's landing was a little rough. His ears were out, his balance was a little off, and he was exhausted. All good, though, because it looked like the others had been successful and they could go home. Aster would probably insist on him getting checked out by one of the medically inclined yeti, but then they'd go home.

And sleep, because he didn't feel up for sex right now. Not that he was overjoyed by that- but a little relieved, yeah. It'd be their first time, and Aster wanted him to make the decision on who'd be on top and- well, having a little bit more time to think about it? For once, he didn't want to rush into things. He wanted it to be _right_.

Aster stepped forward, one hand stretched out to Jack. "Sorry," Jack said. "I can't hear you."

The others all frowned, caught sight of the blood dripping from his ears, and looked a bit freaked out.

And then Aster looked over Jack's head. His eyes widened. His fur stood on end. He went for the knife at his hip.

Jack's world exploded into pain. He screamed, unable to hear himself and unable to stop. Until the darkness rose up and took him under.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Pooka physiology isn't human, hermaphrodite, and jokes about alien physiology.
> 
> I can't really think of anything else to warn for.

Aster had no idea if he was in the middle of a dream or a nightmare, but he wanted to wake up.

_Now_.

Jack had been tended by North's yeti, and was now swathed in bandages. Some bright wag had used blue for the cover wraps, and the dark color contrasted against the cream sheets and pillows, and Jack's pure white.

There were a lot of bandages.

Mostly surface injuries, he'd been assured. The majority of the cuts hadn't needed stitches, and those that did, had been small. With the blood washed off, most of the injuries hadn't even been _visible_.

But his ears... Omar, the medical trained yeti, had said Jack's eardrums had shown signs of rupturing, though they'd healed up between his collapse and their arrival in the Workshop. Omar couldn't say why, or what it meant for Jack's hearing.

Aster could still see the blood, dripping down the side of Jack's face and along his jaw. A bright, impossible red, garish like neon. He loved all colors, all shades, but at that second he'd hated the color red. Would have wiped it from the earth if he could.

The fight had gone wrong from the first, which hadn't helped his emotional stability. Aster had followed North into the building, Sandy at his back, and the first thing they'd found had been the wizard's primary workroom. Wizard? Hah! Warlock by that point, down to the torture and human sacrifice. There'd been animal corpses about the edges of what had been the living room, and some poor soul had been flayed and gutted in the middle. It hadn't been possible to tell if the victim had been male or female, though it'd been a horrible kind of relief that the human hadn't been a _child_.

The wizard had been down in the basement, preparing a summoning circle for a spirit. They'd surprised him, and they'd fought. It'd gone well enough, though the close confines of the hallways and rooms had hampered the Guardians more than the wizard. They'd ended up on the second floor, when the wizard had moved from defense to offense.

He'd tried to take Aster's mind.

He could still feel the oily, slithering magic worming its way around his mind, trying to get in, trying to strangle and wither his free will.

North had thrown the wizard out the window, freeing Aster.

They'd chased after the wizard, and found Tooth only just getting up. That was how they'd known about the Banshees. Jack was missing, not on the ground and not visible in the air. The wizard had vanished.

And then Jack had dropped down out of the sky looking like ten miles of bad road, exhausted and bleeding, and Aster had forgotten about the wizard.

The wizard had thrown a spell at Jack. Aster saw it hit, saw Jack's eyes go wide and his mouth open in shock- and then Jack had _screamed_.

He didn't remember much after that, other than the red.

North had pulled him off the corpse. North had yelled that Jack needed him, and that had been enough.

Only, when he turned around...

Aster hissed, and clenched his eyes shut against the reflexive terror. Jack had been convulsing, no longer screaming. He'd been surrounded by, draped with the ruins of his clothing. And he'd changed shape, continued changing shape even as Aster watched, from human to Pooka. Thick white fur, bloodstained and muddy. Long legs, with big feet meant for walking on the toes. Big hands with thick pads, fine motor control and strength for running on all fours. Long ears- shorter than he remembered his clan having, shorter than what he saw in the mirror- and a sweet little muzzle currently twisted up in pain.

He still didn't know what he thought or felt. Jack was a Pooka. A Pooka! But he was so badly hurt. He hadn't woken up, and the longer he slept the more worried Omar looked. His ears could have been damaged irrevocably, leaving him deaf. The change might not be permanent- or worse, it _was_ permanent and Jack would hate it. Hate _him_ by extension.

It... really didn't help that his hormones were trying to do the rumba. Jack had been attractive as a human, exotic, really. He'd been all long limbs and pale skin, white hair and blue eyes and soft lips just begging to be kissed... Being turned into a Pooka had only made him more attractive. _Painfully_ so.

He had thick fur- well, where Omar hadn't clipped it for bandaging, that is. He still had those long limbs, that wiry strength, though all together he actually looked a little more compact than he'd done as a human. The shape of his skull was more Pooka than human, but there were hints... And he had five fingers and four toes. Aster, and every other Pooka he'd known, had four fingers and three toes.

Breathtaking and exotic. It shouldn't have surprised him that Jack remained that way even through a change in species.

* * *

Aster was old, and had been through more romances than he was comfortable with. He knew what he felt. It'd snuck up on him, but there was no mistaking the attraction he had towards Jack.

The easiest way to wreck a friendship was by adding romance to the mix, so he'd kept quiet. It was easy enough. Jack was young. Not as young as he looked, but young enough. And a touch innocent. He wouldn't see anything in how Aster sought out the Winter Spirit's company, or how Aster kept touching him. Or circling him- it was hard to stop himself, but he was lucky no one had confronted him over it yet.

He'd thought about it, plenty of times. But- well. Banishing Pitch didn't banish fear. Aster feared Jack's reaction, and why not? The boy was from an older time, when shacking up with someone your own gender was asking for a beating at least. It'd been _illegal_.

And Aster was, at the end of the day, an animal.

It'd taken a while for him to admit that fact. He was a person, sure. But he was not, never would be, _human_. He sure wasn't vegetable or mineral. That left animal, and outside of a few spirits he'd never touch again, those folks he found himself drawn to- the humans- weren't interested.

He hadn't even dared hope that Jack might, eventually, come to care for him in that way.

He knew what he felt, that morning when Jack had held up a blue flower _almost_ the right shade, laughing.

He'd just done his damnedest to deny it.

* * *

"Bunny?" That, and the large hand that brushed over his shoulder, woke him up. A bit violently. North was used to dodging the occasional, sleepy punch or kick, and simply shuffled out of the way.

"Wh-what, North?" Aster rubbed at his eyes, and checked on Jack. No change. Still unconscious, still a Pooka. "What?"

"You need proper sleep, my friend." North gestured to the bed next to Jack's. It was empty, and the blankets had been turned down. "You do yourself no good fretting like this."

"I can't." Aster tightened his grip on Jack's hand, then remembered and forced his fingers to relax. "I can't sleep, North. I have to... I have to." His grip tightened again. He had to.

"You will be woken if situation with Jack changes. But you need sleep."

"No." Aster didn't know why he felt so uncomfortable with the idea, but- no. He had to stay and watch over Jack. He had to keep an eye on his mate, do what little he could to protect him.

"...could sleep with me."

They both turned and looked down at the bed. Jack had cracked one eye open, and was smiling. "That'd be nice," he said, half whispering.

"Frostbite!" Careful, careful, Aster reminded himself. No sweeping Jack up into his arms and holding tight, however much he wanted to. He touched his free hand to Jack's cheek. "How- how do you feel?"

"Mm." The Winter Spirit shifted a little under the blankets, and scrunched his face up. "Tired. Sore. And not the good kind of sore, if you know what I mean."

Cheeky little bugger. North choked on air, and walked away, coughing. It gave them a moment of privacy, a few precious seconds where Aster could bring Jack's hand up to his mouth and press a kiss to the pads of each finger and thumb.

"Uh. Cottontail? Kangaroo? Love of my life?"

"Yeah, mate?"

Jack cleared his throat. "My hand's furry."

Aster looked up at Jack. "Mate."

"My hand," he repeated, "is furry. Why is my hand furry?" Jack's breathing sped up, and Aster watched, befuddled and helpless as Jack's gaze slowly tracked down from his hand, to his wrist, his arm... Over to his torso, mostly covered by blankets, not that it helped. The blankets draped over a differently shaped torso and legs quite clearly, and no doubt Jack was feeling the physical differences now that he was awake.

"Oh, _God_ ," he groaned. "I've been turned into a _cat_!"

That... was the last thing Aster had expected Jack to say, and he could only stare for a moment with an open mouth.

"What? No." North returned to the bedside. "You are rabbit, like Bunny."

"You mean a Pooka," Jack corrected the old man. He blinked, his whiskers and ears twitched, and he looked down at himself again. "I'm a _Pooka_?"

Aster leaned forward to counter the rising hysteria. "Jack, love, it was that spell. The wizard threw it at you- we'll figure it out. Just keep calm, you're hurt-"

"I'm fluffy!" Jack turned to face him, his fur bristling. "I'm a freaking puffball! I'm- _cute_!" he spat, as if it was the worst crime imaginable. "If I got turned into a Pooka, why couldn't I look _badass_?" The _like you_ was implied, but still there all the same.

North burst out into laughter, and Jack pouted. "No, really," he said. "Why fluffy?"

"Winter coat," Aster suggested, leaning closer. His eyes half closed, two parts exhaustion and three parts concentrating on Jack's scent. It hadn't much changed, anything subtle covered by the medicinal tang of the ointments and bandages.

"Not fair," Jack mumbled, and tilted to the side. Aster caught him, and the Winter Spirit chuckled. "I meant what I said, though. Not like I've got any IVs or anything to worry about."

Whatever an IV was. Some sort of needle and tube? Bah, he was too tired to try and remember. "I... suppose," Aster murmured, and set one knee onto the mattress.

"If it will get you sleep," North said. "Go on. I will tuck you both in."

Jack yawned, and tugged weakly on Aster's arms. "Bedtime story too?" he suggested. "Or is that a bit much? I think it's a bit much, personally."

North huffed, and folded his arms pointedly while Aster got into bed, and curled around his mate's changed form. Jack smirked at him, and rubbed his cheek against Aster's chest. It was something he did most nights before sleeping, and it felt... right, that he did it now. And, really, Jack's changed physique didn't cause any awkwardness while they settled down, though Aster knew he'd be feeling embarrassed come morning. But then, Jack had always had that effect on him, and it was his own bloody fault for not wearing anything by way of trousers.

* * *

They walked hand in hand along the Coloring River. It wasn't nearly as awkward as he'd feared; they had a different number of fingers to interlace, and Aster's hand was bigger than Jack's, his fingers thicker, but that seemed to pale and fade into the background when they were like this.

"Jack," he breathed, his voice hoarse around the obstruction in his throat. It might have been his heart, or maybe just his terror. "We've been... stepping out together for a bit now."

"Two years, five months, and seven days," Jack agreed. He grinned, eyes crinkling at the corners.

"Wait, what?" Really? That long?

"I might've made up the days."

"Oh, belt up." He squeezed Jack's hand, and grinned. "Quit mucking around."

"But it's so much fun!"

He pretended to shove Jack into the river, and Jack pretended to stumble and flail for balance. They didn't once let go of each other's hands.

"But no, really," Jack said, once they'd calmed down and were walking again. "What did you want to say? Must be pretty important." He leaned to the side, and rested his head against Aster's bicep for a moment. "Your hand's sweating."

Aster grimaced. "Sorry."

"Nah, its fine."

No more delays, he supposed. "Well, it's just that. I mean, I suppose... I think we need to talk, mate."

"Talk?" Jack's grip tightened on Aster's hand. "About what?"

Aster swallowed, and stopped walking. After a step, Jack turned to face him. "Nothing... nothing bad, I hope," he admitted. "Just... before we continue, there's some things, about me, that you need to know." He swallowed, and stared into Jack's eyes. "It, uh, it might not be something you want to deal with."

Jack moved forwards into a hug. "I already know you're the last," he said. "Sandy and Tooth told me, they... They didn't want me to ask something and hurt you."

"I wasn't actually going to talk about that." Aster sighed, and relaxed all the same. Strange, how the faint bite of chill had become something so lovely. It meant there'd be frost in the morning, and Frost at his side, and if he kept going on like this he'd get maudlin and poetic and that wouldn't be good for anyone.

Although, really, so long as it wasn't accompanied by snow more than an inch deep, frost was quite lovely to look at.

He bent his head and nuzzled at Jack's ear. "Come sit with me?"

"I'd rather sit on you," Jack breathed, his fingers tracing patterns up and down Aster's back, through the fur. Aster shivered and clutched at the Winter Spirit's shoulders, knees reflexively going weak. This- this was why they had to talk.

"Maybe later," he managed, voice hoarse for a whole new reason. "For now- we really _do_ have to talk, Frostbite."

Jack rolled his eyes and stepped back. "Fine. Here?"

"Might as well." The grass was thick, the earth was soft- well, as soft as earth got without turning into mud- and he had to stop delaying. "So."

"So," Jack repeated, and caught his paws in both of his hands. "What do you need to talk about?"

Aster's mouth twisted into a wry smile. "Well, there's some... a few things you might see as stumbling blocks, mate. You know I've been around the block a few times."

"And you know that if any of those exes show up, I'm going to ice them to a wall first and use them for target practice second."

He about choked on a laugh. "Yeah, I reckon you would! But, uh, no. This is related but not about that."

Jack nodded, and raised his eyebrows. "I'm listening."

That was the problem. "About- about half, I'd say, of my previous relationships ended when I... You see, I'm a bit different, physically, than... humans." And if he couldn't spit it out, they'd be here, him stammering and Jack listening, until the final days.

"Well," Jack said. "You do have big feet." He actually leered at Aster. "And you know what they say about guys with big feet. I don't mind."

This time he did choke, and it took a few minutes of coughing before he could get a word out. "Yes. I mean no! I mean- oh, for the love of... Jack. Just... Trust me. That's not... I mean, it is, but its not- that's not what I'm talking about!"

"So your big feet really are an indication of your big-"

"Jack!"

The drongo grinned, and leaned back. "Fine, fine. I think your nose is turning pink."

Damn blush. "Well I'm glad my embarrassment amuses you," he groused. "Real happy."

"Whatever it is, it can't be that bad." Jack looked down at Aster's lap. "You don't have two, do you? Because, I'm sorry, it'll always be one at a time and-"

"What?" he screeched. He almost clenched his legs together to hide his groin. "What do you- no! No, no, no and _no_! Where'd you even _get_ that idea?"

Jack shrugged. "A penny dreadful from the fifties, about aliens."

"We're having book burning after this!"

Jack couldn't reply. He was laughing too hard.

Aster managed to calm himself down long before Jack stopped laughing. "No, mate," he said, and stared at the ground. "I don't- I've got only the one, but- I'm a hermaphrodite."

Silence. It dragged on and on, and he didn't dare look up to see whether there was horror or disgust on Jack's face. Well, this was it. The main reason why he'd been so reluctant to start their romance, and so reluctant to move forward with it. Maybe they'd be able to stay friends after this, though-

"Hey, Kangaroo?" Jack leaned forward, his neck at an odd angle, so he could look up at Aster. "Lemme get something straight, okay? That good with you?"

He nodded, and bit down on his lower lip.

"So... You're a guy, and you have guy bits. But," Jack said, and winced. "Hold on, lemme..." He straightened up, and sat back on his heels. "But you're also... at the same time, a girl with girl bits?"

"Being a buck or a doe is- _was_ \- a personal choice," he managed. "I'm a buck."

"But you've also got girl bits."

He winced, but nodded.

Jack nodded in return, and stared up at the distant cavern ceiling, his expression thoughtful. Aster, emotional turmoil or no, felt his fingers itch for a sketchpad and stick of charcoal. He never did any of Jack's portraits in color, they never looked right. Black, white, and shades of gray? Those were _perfect_.

"Okay," Jack said, and looked back at Aster. "So. That's the big... tell all share all you were worried about?" He waved one hand in a vague circle. "No other secrets you think will mess us up?"

"No. Just that one."

Jack tackled him to the ground, and straddled his hips. "Your exes were all morons and didn't deserve you. Also, you're weird, but I don't care. And finally," he said, shifting so he was mostly lying on Aster, hands on the Pooka's shoulders and legs tight about his hips. "Got any fantasies you want to share?"

"Wha- Jack!"

"What?" The Winter Spirit smirked. "I can't share any of mine, I have to come up with new ones!"

Aster rolled his eyes, and then rolled so Jack was caught under him. "You're crazy."

Jack reached up and tangled his fingers in Aster's ruff. "Ah, you love me anyways. C'mere."

* * *

Someone was combing through the fur on his cheek. He smelt ice, and desolate places, and laughter, and knew exactly who it was. Aster tightened his grip on Jack's waist and purred, relaxing into his mate's ministrations.

"Aw," someone whispered. Someone female. Someone familiar.

_Tooth_!

His eyes snapped open, and he tensed. Damn it. He pulled away from Jack and looked for the warrior lady, and groaned. Yup. She had a camera.

"I asked for the picture," Jack said, and smirked. Even with a Pooka's muzzle, the expression was recognizably his. "Who knows how long I'll be like this?"

"She's going to make copies," Aster muttered, and forced his muscles to relax. "You right?" There were fewer bandages, which left Jack looking a touch odd with half his fur clipped short.

"Jack is doing fine, Omar has said." North sat down on the biggest chair in the room, and folded his arms. "No damage to hearing, injuries healing nicely. It is good you are awake now, we must talk."

Aster sat up, and leaned back against the headboard. Jack snuggled into his chest, effectively pinning him and making North wince. Serve the wanker right for making such a big fuss over their minor PDAs and upsetting the Winter Spirit. Aster would play every game Jack came up with, from the "Aster leers, Jack ignores, North's eye twitches" game to the "make even Eskimo kisses naughty" game, to right now.

"Talk about what?" Jack asked.

Tooth and Sandy moved closer. "Well," Tooth said. "You're not human anymore, Jack."

The Winter Spirit- should that be Winter Pooka? Aster wondered- studied his hands. "No, looks like I'm not. And? I'm not sure what the big deal is."

The three stared at him. Aster closed his eyes. Why had he thought Jack would get upset over the change, again?

Jack folded his arms and pressed harder against Aster's chest. "I really don't see why everyone's freaking out," he mumbled. "So I'm a Pooka, so what? Either I'll go back to human or I won't." He looked up, his nose bumping against Aster's chin. That made him blink and he eased back a touch, actually going cross-eyed to apparently glare at his nose. "That's in a different spot now- and you don't care, do you? That I'm not human anymore?"

Aster raised his eyebrows. "You're joking, right?"

"Good. See? Important person doesn't care." Jack patted Aster's thigh, and grinned. " _Really_ doesn't care. Morning to you too, Kangaroo."

"Jack!" Aster caught the little shit stirrer's hands, and growled. "Don't- just don't. Do that. Thank you."

Jack just laughed at him.

Tooth cleared her throat. "Yes, well. Um. Good to hear that, I think." She turned to look at North, who'd covered his face with his hands. "But, Jack... the spell... Sandy's the only one that got a good look at it."

Sandy nodded, and pointed at Jack. His sand shapes flowed into images- human Jack turning into a Pooka, and a large X over the image. The sand shifted, and this time the human Jack fell over, clearly dead.

"This wizard guy just gets more and more charming with every new detail," Jack muttered. Aster felt him shiver. "So I should have died?"

"Painfully, Sandy says." North looked at them both. "So, why did spell turn you Pooka instead?"

* * *

That New Year's celebration at North's, three of Aster's exes did show up. They hadn't said more than three or four words before Jack made good on his word, and froze them to the wall.

Aster did talk him out of the target practice, but only just.

* * *

"Hey, don't look at me," Jack said. "I don't know."

Aster rubbed his chin between his mate's ears, and hummed. "Maybe because he's of winter or something?"

"Or because I was dead ever so briefly?" Jack suggested. Aster hugged him tighter. Jack was alive, now, but ever since he'd gotten his memories back he'd had nightmares of drowning. That was why they'd started sleeping together in the same nest, though they'd not yet had sex. Apparently listening to Aster's heartbeat kept the night terrors away.

"Possibly," North allowed. "Will be rather hard to check."

Tooth fluttered her wings. "Jack, were you a magician yourself, before being chosen?"

"Huh?"

Oh, right, they'd never had this talk with Jack before. "All of us either were spirits originally- me and Sandy, to be exact- or, like Tooth and North, were... different... even when human. Tooth was half-human, and North was a wizard."

"But you got chosen as Guardians first," Jack pointed out. "Weren't you?"

"Technically spirits with a fancy title and extra work," Aster said.

"Oh. Well, still. And no, I don't _think_ so."

"You don't think so?" Tooth asked. "But you said you looked at your memories, with the whole..." She bit her lip. "When you were first chosen."

Jack hunched his shoulders. "Well, I did. A little. Enough, anyways."

"Mate?"

"I don't want to see it again," Jack whispered. "It- it wasn't fun, okay?"

Tooth rested her hand on Jack's. "I can help you look through your memories. You don't have to revisit that part if you don't want to."

"Okay," he whispered. "And I really, really don't want to."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Brief mention of death (which I should have warned for last chapter, oh well), implication of gender switching, cross species romance mentioned, alien physiology, hermaphrodite, sex with said hermaphrodite.

Tooth held out the golden box. "Here. You had brown hair before?"

"And brown eyes," Jack agreed. "Uh, Aster? Would you hold my hand?"

Aster wrapped his arms around Jack, and nodded. "Of course."

"Alright," he said. "Hit me, Tooth."

She opened the box, and he rested one hand on the glowing lid. The memories dragged him under.

It wasn't like the time he'd looked at them with Baby Tooth. Then, the memories had flicked past too quickly for him to see, pausing briefly at the occasional vivid scene, only to settle on his final moments. He didn't know if that had been intentional or not, and hadn't much cared.

This time it was like he was flipping through a book he'd read enough times to memorize. Words and phrases reminded him of entire paragraphs and pages, the events coming to full, Technicolor detail in his mind. His mother- she had gray eyes, he remembered that now, and had looked half her age- and his father, hair gone white early. His sister, who'd been the best at hiding of all of them. His grandmother, who'd looked young enough to be his mother's sister, and who'd taught him the basics...

He remembered the lessons and the discipline, and strange to think- to remember- exactly how disciplined he'd been. Even after being brought back as a spirit, even without his memory, he'd followed her lessons exactly.

Jack remembered his parents' shock when he'd decided he was a boy, not a girl. His mother had explained how difficult that would be for him. His father had been pleased to have a son follow in his footsteps.

His father really had been one of the most understanding humans ever. Just like great-grandmother, who- according to grandmother- hadn't minded much when her husband switched genders.

Their small family moved, as was custom, when Jack made his decision. In Burgess he could be a young boy, grow up into a man, when everyone back in Moorstown remembered him as a girl.

The memories built towards the climax he already knew and didn't want to live through a second time.

And Tooth cut off the magic.

Jack yelled, and clenched his eyes shut. "Okay," he breathed, and turned to curl up against Aster. He was shaking.

"Frostbite?"

"I, uh." He swallowed, and heard his throat click. "I know why I turned into a Pooka. The- the spell was supposed to make me fade away like the Bane-sidhe, wasn't it?"

He saw Sandy nod from the corner of his eye.

"I, uh, I guess that means it must've been meant to destabilize my DNA, but it was already under strain. Uh." He pulled away from Aster, though he really, really didn't want to. No wonder this form felt so natural.

He looked around, and felt his ears droop with everyone staring at him. Well, now he knew how Aster had felt, revealing personal information. And that had been just to Jack, not with an audience.

"So," he said, and clasped his hands together in his lap. "I guess I should start from the beginning, right?"

"Always a good place," Aster murmured.

"Then I guess I should start with great-great-grandfather, who left Underhill and took a human lover."

Everyone blinked at that. "You're an elf?" Tooth said.

"Do you guys know anything about púca?" he asked, ignoring that. An elf? No.

Aster's ear twitched. "I'd heard of them, but by the time I went looking the Faerie had gone Underhill."

"Yeah, well. Mostly they looked like horses, but- shape changers, you know? And horses didn't have to worry as much about being hunted down for _dinner_. Horses or humans." He took a deep breath. "Anyways, near as I can remember, from grandmother's stories, the púca weren't Sidhe. They lived with the Sidhe, and they could have kids with the Sidhe, but mostly they didn't. Grandmother said they'd run from something big and bad and hid out Underhill, and then got trapped because of rules and stuff."

More specifically, there hadn't been any way to avoid eating Underhill food. Not when they were down there for decades going on centuries. The púca had become as much a part of Underhill as the various breeds and clans of Sidhe.

Aster shifted slightly. "Do you know what they were running from?"

"Grandmother hadn't known. But- there were enough for a stable breeding population, from what Grandmother said. That they didn't normally take outside lovers. Only great-great-grandfather fell in love with a human, and left Underhill long enough to live out her life with her. They had a couple kids."

He paused, and couldn't help the smirk. "Great-grandmother had to be the most understanding woman in the world, because great-grandfather apparently liked to switch genders. Or take his father's shape."

"His father's?" Aster asked, sounding strangled.

"Like me," Jack said. "Only brown." He paused, and added, "and not fluffy, damn it!"

He saw Tooth hide a smile, and stuck his tongue out at her. "But yeah, everyone in my family..." He shrugged. "I was the only one that chose to be a boy. All the other guys married into the family."

"Chose?" North murmured, and then winced. "Never mind, do not want to know."

"Your- you were born Pooka," Aster breathed. "You- there's more? Underhill?"

"I was born half-breed," Jack corrected. No need to get Aster's hopes way up. "And I don't know how to get Underhill. But... yeah. At least from great-grandfather's time, yeah."

Aster bowed his head, and his shoulders started to shake. Jack didn't say anything. Just held on and let his mate cry a little in relief.

It'd take a while to figure out how to get into Underhill- probably a century or two. Until then, well, Jack's sister Mary had gotten married. And he suspected Pooka genetics were pretty dominant, considering how much he looked like Aster- a pure-blood Pooka. Somewhere out in the world there were kids who occasionally shifted into bipedal rabbits and couldn't eat meat.

They'd just have to find them. How hard could that be? Family trees were on the _internet_ these days.

* * *

Three weeks of the torture otherwise known as bed rest later, Aster finally dragged Jack back into his Burrow and pinned him against the closest wall.

"Hi," Jack said, and arched against Aster. "What, having North around wasn't any fun?"

"He kept sharpening a sword or knife if I so much as looked at you," Aster mumbled, and pressed into Jack a little more. His Jack, his mate, just the right size to pick up and carry, so damn beautiful, and his. Just- his. He'd chinned Jack a dozen times since the transformation, and gotten chinned a few times too, and their scents screamed it to the world. They weren't married, but- spirits. And neither of them had parents to make disapproving faces over the whole living in sin thing, although North, bless him, tried.

"Aw, poor baby." Jack's grin turned wicked, and he hooked one foot around Aster's knee. He tugged, and Aster could've kept his balance, but it was easier to tumble to the ground with Jack landing on top of him. He looked down, and smirked. His own erection was a familiar sight, but seeing Jack's was new. In the past, his pants had gotten in the way.

Well, now he'd seen. What about touch?

Jack gasped, and shuddered when Aster wrapped his paw around the Winter Spirit's length. He rubbed his fingers, ever so gentle, against the inside of the curve, and was rewarded with a second gasp and complete collapse. It made it hard to fondle his mate, but- very good reaction, all told.

"We should maybe move," he said, all but purring.

" _No_." Jack pushed himself up onto his hands, and nearly glared. "We're doing this now."

"Our nest will be more comfortable."

" _Now_!"

"I'm bigger than you are, and I say nest." He stood up, catching Jack about the waist with one arm as he did, and smirked. "You'll thank me. Floor's uncomfortable."

"Who said I'd be on the floor?" Jack groaned, and pressed up against Aster. It made it hard to stay upright, never mind walk.

"Nest, Jack." In the end, he simply lifted his mate up bridal style, although it was almost as distracting as the both of them walking. Jack had more room to fondle himself, and Aster had a good view.

The windows in the nest room were open, letting the artificial, late afternoon sunlight shine in. Jack all but glowed in the light, his fur having grown back, and the purest white. He sparkled a touch, like ice did.

Aster dropped him down onto the nest, and smirked at the resulting "ooph."

"Well now," he said, his voice dropping into a purr. "I've got you all to meself. What should I do with a pretty little thing like you?"

Jack spread his legs, and looked down at his erection. "Oh, I'm sure you can come up with _something_."

Well. _Yeah_.

Aster dropped down, hands tight on Jack's hips, and hovered over that pale, pink length. Jack's breathing quickened, getting faster the longer Aster waited to move. By the time his mate was practically hyperventilating, Aster ran out of patience and simply took all of Jack's cock into his mouth.

Jack _screamed_ and climaxed.

He choked a little, surprised, and pulled back. There were a few drops of semen still on his lips, and he licked them off.

"Enjoyed that?" he asked, and caressed Jack's hip with one hand.

Jack blinked his eyes open, and then attempted to glare. He looked like a put out kitten. "How could I, it was over too fast."

"I'll have to fix that," Aster murmured, and bent back down.

He ignored Jack's cock, already half-hard again, and licked once at the bump of his testes. Just below that... Where a human male had smooth, sensitive skin, a Pooka had 'female bits', as Jack so eloquently put it. Aster started licking at the smooth folds of skin, laughed a little at the whining sounds Jack made- the laugh got a "hoy _Jesus_!", so he repeated it- and finally shifted one hand so he could ease a finger in.

"Christ," Jack snapped, and it wasn't all in pleasure. There was a thin edge of pain there, to go with how his entire pelvic region tensed up. Aster waited, nuzzling at the crook of his hip, for his mate to relax.

It took several minutes, but Jack finally sighed and sprawled back on the mess of pillows that made their bed. Aster purred, and started easing his finger in and out. He licked at Jack's cock while he did, and had the white Pooka doing his best to writhe in pleasure while his muscles all went lax.

Jack lasted only a little longer this time, coming again with a shout and tensing all over. Aster slipped his finger out of Jack's body, and licked the liquid off.

"Holy crap," Jack breathed. "You should not look that hot, doing that."

"No?" Aster stretched out over his mate, and moaned when his cock rubbed against Jack's thigh.

"Aw, poor Aster," Jack cooed. "You took such good care of me, you forgot about yourself." He petted Aster's shoulder for a minute, and then grinned, sharp and wicked. "Roll over and I'll take care of that for you."

Aster sucked in a breath, and nodded, his eyes hooded. "What I did was okay?" he asked. "With-"

"Easier than anal," Jack said, mostly matter of fact. His ears twitched a bit, with a touch of unease, but not enough for him to be too upset. "A little weird, but- well, no preparation needed."

"No, there's that," Aster agreed. "It does make things faster." He rolled his hips against Jack again, and groaned.

"Seriously, roll over. I've got this."

He rolled over.

Jack, the _beast_ , laughed low and wicked. He traced the lines of Aster's cock with the very tips of his claws. They were blunt, but there was still a hint of danger to it- a scratch would _hurt_ \- and it made Aster's groin tighten in a familiar and welcome way.

"So, the thing they say about big feet _is_ true," Jack said, and grinned. He was hard _again_ , already, and breathed in shallow pants. "Okay. Ah, you said the sex thing, that'd be my decision on how?"

"Y-yeah." Because Jack was the virgin, Jack had been human- and was still getting used to being a Pooka, even if he'd been born that way- and there'd be time for experimentation and fantasies after they'd gotten comfortable with each other.

Did Jack want to fuck him? Aster groaned at the thought, his groin tight, cock dripping pre-come and his clit just plain wet. _Anything_ would be good at this point. Although if Jack wanted to do anal they'd have to find the lube, wherever Aster had put it.

Jack straddled Aster's hips, and swallowed. "This will be faster," he said, and pressed himself down on Aster's cock.

"Crikey!" His hands came down on Jack's hips, stilling the Winter Spirit halfway down. "Slowly," he rasped. "Very slowly, Jack." El-Ahrairah's _balls_ , but Jack was tight.

" _Aster_ ," Jack whined. He wiggled a little, despite the hold Aster had on him, and sank down another half inch. They both gasped. Jack arched backwards, which changed the angle just enough that Aster saw sparks.

He thrust upward, and bellowed as he came.

Aster didn't have a chance to recover before Jack was pawing at him, one hand groping his thigh before dipping down below his testes to his clit- and the other tangled in the fur of his chest and tugged.

Aster keened, and ran his hands up and down Jack's sides. The sparkles faded from his vision. He sat up, shifting his half-hard cock in Jack and making the cheeky little bugger gasp and shudder, and cupped the Winter Spirit's arse in one hand.

"You want another go round then?" he asked, voice low and almost unrecognizable. Jack nodded against his chest. "Alright."

He pinched Jack's tail base between his thumb and forefinger, and smirked at his mate's shocked squeal. Then he pushed Jack down onto his back.

It only took a few pumps of his hips to be fully hard, and have Jack whining and gasping in pleasure. He kept one arm wrapped around Jack's back, keeping most of his weight up and off his smaller mate and also keeping Jack from moving too much. He wrapped his hand around Jack's cock, and pumped in time with the thrusts of his hips.

The double stimulation was too much, and Jack clawed at his back. He wailed when he came, and sagged down, limp, while Aster thrust a few more times before coming himself.

He rolled to the side, to avoid crushing Jack, and gathered his exhausted mate to his chest. "You right, Jack?"

"Mm. Yeah." The bastard grinned, and nuzzled under Aster's chin. "That was good. Might have the patience..." He yawned, and wrapped one leg over Aster's hip. "The patience for anal, next time. That could be... fun."

"Mm." It could be. "Not right now. You're falling asleep."

"Yup." Jack closed his eyes, and didn't even twitch when Aster pulled his already retracting cock free. "You're bottoming next time."

Was he now? Aster's tail twitched, and his tired body tried to wake up for yet another go round. Well, maybe. But for now, sleep.

So they slept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yup, this would be the end of Velveteen Pooka. It was a fun little thing to work on while figuring out Pacing the Heart's next arc and plotting with Corgi over a joint project we'll be doing. That said, I liked doing a Pooka!Jack (noooo, this story wasn't an excuse to do Pooka!Jack and him and Bunny having sex... well, mostly not...) and I might sometime in the future do something with a similar idea, but... Meh. Werewolves, Old Man Winter, and fearlings are first in line... Oh, and Assassins. And Private Detectives. And...


End file.
